Thread: PATH_MAX = 4k ?

  1. #1
    spurious conceit MK27's Avatar
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    PATH_MAX = 4k ?

    Is PATH_MAX really that big or do I have something wrong?
    C programming resources:
    GNU C Function and Macro Index -- glibc reference manual
    The C Book -- nice online learner guide
    Current ISO draft standard
    CCAN -- new CPAN like open source library repository
    3 (different) GNU debugger tutorials: #1 -- #2 -- #3
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  2. #2
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    What tools are you using to get that value and assuming you are on one of the UNIX's are you using the getconf utility?

  3. #3
    spurious conceit MK27's Avatar
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    oh I just did this:

    Code:
    printf("%d\n", PATH_MAX);
    C programming resources:
    GNU C Function and Macro Index -- glibc reference manual
    The C Book -- nice online learner guide
    Current ISO draft standard
    CCAN -- new CPAN like open source library repository
    3 (different) GNU debugger tutorials: #1 -- #2 -- #3
    cpwiki -- our wiki on sourceforge

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    What OS platform are you on? Show the entire code instead of just the printf() statement.

  5. #5
    spurious conceit MK27's Avatar
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    I think it must have been:

    Code:
    #include <linux/limits.h>
    #include <stdio.h>
    
    int main () {
         printf("%d\n", PATH_MAX);
    }
    C programming resources:
    GNU C Function and Macro Index -- glibc reference manual
    The C Book -- nice online learner guide
    Current ISO draft standard
    CCAN -- new CPAN like open source library repository
    3 (different) GNU debugger tutorials: #1 -- #2 -- #3
    cpwiki -- our wiki on sourceforge

  6. #6
    Officially An Architect brewbuck's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MK27 View Post
    Is PATH_MAX really that big or do I have something wrong?
    I doubt it's lying... PATH_MAX is only a hint, anyway, since the underlying platform might have no path length limitation at all. And there's no way to indicate that fact with some finite number, so they just pick a large number at random...
    Code:
    //try
    //{
    	if (a) do { f( b); } while(1);
    	else   do { f(!b); } while(1);
    //}

  7. #7
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    So then 4k is correct as the PATH_MAX symbolic constant is defined in the <limits.h> include file on Unix/Linux.
    So there you can have deeply nested directories and/or really long names for them.

  8. #8
    spurious conceit MK27's Avatar
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    that's not a nest, it's obscene
    C programming resources:
    GNU C Function and Macro Index -- glibc reference manual
    The C Book -- nice online learner guide
    Current ISO draft standard
    CCAN -- new CPAN like open source library repository
    3 (different) GNU debugger tutorials: #1 -- #2 -- #3
    cpwiki -- our wiki on sourceforge

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by MK27 View Post
    that's not a nest, it's obscene
    cool beans

  10. #10
    and the hat of int overfl Salem's Avatar
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    Original DOS was 8.3 and no subdirectories, and people complained it was too little.
    Now 4K is too much, and people complain it's too much.
    *shrug*
    If you dance barefoot on the broken glass of undefined behaviour, you've got to expect the occasional cut.
    If at first you don't succeed, try writing your phone number on the exam paper.

  11. #11
    Registered User OnionKnight's Avatar
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    4k is perfectly reasonable for a path. I suppose this is under Linux?

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